The day before yesterday, the Government of Serbia adopted the draft budget for 2022, and yesterday it was forwarded to the Assembly of Serbia. The budget for next year envisages total revenues of 12.8 million euros, which is an increase of 1.9 percent in relation to the recently adopted rebalance of this year’s budget. In the next year, total expenditures of 14.5 million euros are also planned. The budget deficit will amount to 1.6 billion euros, and the general government deficit will amount to three percent of GDP, after this year’s 4.9 percent. With such a deficit in the state treasury, public debt is expected to decrease from 58 to 55.5 percent of GDP.
The increase in salaries in the public sector and pensions in the next year, unlike the previous ones, will be more in line with the expected economic growth. The state expects real GDP growth of 4.5 percent and a GDP deflator of three percent, which means that nominal GDP growth of 7.5 percent is planned. The proposed budget envisions an increase in the salary fund by seven percent, which means that the average salaries in the public sector will be increased by 7.3 percent.
Employees in health institutions will receive increases of eight percent, and the same increase will be given to employees in the Ministry of Defense, in social protection institutions, from December this year. Other employees in the public sector will receive a seven percent salary increase. As for pensions, the Swiss formula prescribes an increase in pensions of 5.5 percent from January next year.
This budget will reduce levies on work, so that contributions for PIO at the expense of the employer will be reduced from 11.5 to 11 percent, while at the same time the non-taxable part of the salary will be increased from 150 euros to 165 euros, which was agreed in September during negotiations on increase of minimum wages. This will reduce the expenses of employers by 5 euros per month to the paid net salary of 500 euros.
Expenditures for investments are planned at 3.4 billion euros, which is almost a quarter of budget expenditures and 4.5 percent more than this year. The most important projects to be financed next year are the Frushkogorski Corridor, the railway to the Hungarian border, the section of Corridor 11 Preljina-Pozega, the Moravian Corridor for which the most money will be allocated next year, about 340 million euros, the Belgrade-Sarajevo highway and the Ruma-Sabac-Loznica highway.
The money will also be set aside for the reconstruction of the Subotica-Szeged railway, the Iverak-Lajovac expressway, communal infrastructure of around 100 million euros and the National Stadium, for which 60 million euros will be set aside next year. 45 million euros will be set aside for the construction of the Belgrade metro next year. The budget also plans a significant reduction of subsidies, from 1.7 to 1.2 billion euros, Danas reports..
